Monday, February 14, 2011

Let's hear it for the boy!

Three weeks ago I marched into the pharmacy and bought out all the Nyquil, Dayquil, Tylenol Flu and Mucinex in the store.

I went up to the counter to dump my sorry lot of snot/cough inhibitors and looked at the girl. “We’re sick.” I said.

“You and the rest of the town.” She says. “Everyone says it lasts FOREVER!”

“Tell me about it! I’m on day six!”

Just thinking about it makes me snort. Day six! Six days! Phlep! That is nothing!

I’m on week four now…and I know you all will believe me, as I am almost always only honest…that I almost died from this thing. The only thing worse was the swine flu I almost died from a few years ago.

It was one of those things that got worse every day. And the worse my symptoms? The more medicine I ingested. Makes perfect sense, right? I needed to function! I am a mother! I do not get a vacation!

Well my body told me otherwise.

It turned into fever, chills…coughing…coughing…coughing….chest congestion.

I was a a mess. There was seriously a week where I was completely out of commission.

Ryan to the rescue.

Sidenote: Ryan is my husband and he is a funny guy. He is either the life of the party, or he is the guy standing by himself in the corner. If you click with him…he’ll do anything for you. It goes with his upbringing. He is an undying friend and lifelong confidant if you make the cut. Thank the Good Lord I’ve made the cut!

He took care of me and the family like nobody’s business! He cooked, he cleaned, he picked up the boys from school every day, he did all the daytime and nighttime checks and he took care of me!

He never once complained.

It all came to a head for me last Monday. I had a conference call about the TCOYD conference on Saturday and told Amy, “Yeah! I’m totally doing better every day!”

(COUGH COUGH)Lie(COUGH COUGH)

That night the chills were so vicious I thought I was going to knock my teeth out. I became a heap of crying mess…hyperventilating that I’d never get better. My stomach hurt from all the meds I was piling into myself and I promptly threw those all up. I pretty much laid on the couch and decided I was going to die. When my husband carried me into the doctor’s office the next morning the nurse said, “Wow! You are sick!” She immediately filled three prescriptions.

Antibiotics for bronchitis. Cough syrup with Codeine for my cough. And Soma for the pinched nerve in my neck that TORTURED me every time I coughed.

I made it to the TCOYD Conference on Saturday. But I wouldn’t have done it without Ryan.

Something you should know…through all of this, Ryan had to work.

And something else I forgot to tell you? Ryan was sick with this too.

It is easy to take our spouses for granted…but everyday he took over I thought…”I’m going to make this up to him. Why isn’t he complaining? I love him so much! He is a better person than me!”

I know how lucky I am to have a husband that tells me EVERY DAY how much he loves me.

I know I’m lucky to have a husband that tells me I’m beautiful…even though he is clearly delusional!

I know I’m lucky to have a husband that helps. A husband that two months ago took over the nighttime checks because I couldn’t get up anymore. (Seriously, I couldn’t…I’d turn off the alarm every time without remembering in the morning. He said I’ve clearly reached Alarm Fatigue and he would take over indefinitely if need be.)

Hello…wonderfulness.

I take for granted how blessed I am.

20 years ago today Ryan sent me a heart shaped cake…in the mail. Seriously…I think he sent it FedEx. It was a huge blob of a mess when it got to me, but my roommates and I enjoyed every bite. This story epitomizes the way Ryan is. He may not pull everything off with finesse...but he manages to show you how much he truly loves you.

He is my best friend.

This one is for you my dear Valentine. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for loving me. This diabetic life would be impossible to navigate without out you by my side.

I love you Ryan! You so deserve a standing ovation for the past few weeks!



24 comments:

  1. Oh Meri! I am so sad that you were sick, but hooray for Ryan! He is all kinds of awesome. Hope you are feeling betterand I can't wait to hear all about your conference.

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  2. I second your "Hello..wonderfulness!" You are blessed dear Meri...and you deserve it! Hope you are feeling better.

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  3. Ryan sounds so very wonderful! You are both so lucky! Glad you are better my dear friend! Happy VDay!

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  4. How wonderful! I hope I find that for myself someday...:)

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  5. What a guy! Thank goodness you were smart enough to marry the boy!
    Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

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  6. Love this post!

    Glad you're better. : )

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  7. YAY FOR A GUY LIKE RYAN!!!!!!!!

    I'm so happy you're feeling better. And I can't WAIT to hear all about Saturday :)

    Happy (codeine-free) Valentine's Day!

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  8. I hope you're feeling better now! Glad you've got such an awesome hubby who is able and willing to fill in for you when you're down...and without complaining about it too!

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  9. First of all... he is right - you ARE beautiful :)

    Second, I think you just set the best hubby in the world standard beyond reach. You sure lucked out my friend... heart shaped blob cake mess and all.

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  10. Awwww. Yep - I agree... we so often take our spouses for granted. :)

    Yours sounds like a pretty awesome piece of wonderfulness, indeed! :)

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  11. We have been living parallel lives, my friend. I had a similar illness right down to the bronchitis and the prescribed meds. I haven't been that sick in years. And my husband was the family hero. He took care of me. He took care of the kids, two of whom were also sick. He took care of diabetes. He took care of the house. He did it all, even though he had to work full-time and he didn't feel well himself. I read your post and I felt as though I were reading my own story. We are lucky girls, you and I.

    It makes me happy to know you are so loved and so blessed! Hooray for husbands like Ryan!!!

    Hope you're feeling much, much better! Can't wait to read all about TCOYD!

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  12. Hello! I'm so glad to have come across your blog. I cannot believe that you juggle 3 type 1 diabetic children. I have an 8 yr. son recently diagnosed diabetic & celiac. I definitely look forward to learning from you. I hope you all get well quickly!!!!

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  13. awww...lucky lucky you for having such a sweet man, icky, icky poo for that nasty cold, bronchitis, nerve issue...I'm glad you're feeling a bit better :)

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  14. He sounds down right "DREAMY" through all the "congestion" and "phlegmy" descriptors in your post Meri! (((HUGS)))

    I am so, so, so sorry you were sick girl. It sounded terrible. I heart you and knowing that you have Ryan in your life makes me all the more happier in the life I am living. You are such an inspiration to all of us in the DOC and you deserve the VERY BEST IN THE WORLD - HOLLA RYAN!!!! WOOT!

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  15. Aw, sorry to hear you were so sick! But yay for your hubby! I'll take a husband that takes over for me over roses ANY day! :)

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  16. Yay for the hubbies that take care of us! I've had the crud since the first of the year...happy 2011! I'm *finally* starting to get over it, and my hubs has picked up the slack here - laundry, cooking, shopping.

    Hope you are feeling EVER so much better and you and Ryan can have a lovely Valentine's day!

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  17. Way to go Ryan!!! WOOT WOOT! What about Lawton, did he help? Sigh....I love Lawton.

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  18. Hope youre feeling better and so very happy you were blessed with a hubby that treats how you deserve to be treated! Yay Ryan!! Xoxo happy valentines day!

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  19. You two could be the cutest couple ever. Hope you are feeling better!

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  20. I'm glad you're feeling better - I HOPE you're feeling better!! What a guy! You are a lucky duck and I love that song!!! I also can not wait to hear about Saturday! I hope you had a wonderful cough free, mucus free day! :)

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  21. Go Ryan! Thanks for taking care of my sweet friend. I know she means more to you than me but I do love that awesome wife of yours.

    Meri, I hope you are feeling much better!

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  22. Wow! SO glad you made it to the conference! And as for Ryan..tell him we ALL love him! I hope I get to meet you both, well the whole family really, one of these days...hope you continue to feel better Meri!

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  23. Sorry you are under the weather! Ryan is a wunnerful guy, and you are a lucky duck! Take care and get well soon! Kim

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  24. What an amazing tribute. I'm so sorry you have been going through this Meri. I wish you a speedy and complete recovery from hereon out.

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